The night progressed, and it became a trend to try to figure out why Mira asked us to be here tonight. Throughout the bar, I heard a variety of answers to the question, and each seemed to get increasingly ridiculous. The idea that she may be moving, for example, to focus on modeling could be a real possibility; however, the idea that she's going to participate in a reality dating show seemed rather far-fetched. This somehow evolved into Mira becoming a porn star, but as her brother, Elfman, threatened to beat up anyone who suggested that, the theories returned to 'family friendly' territory. Our table reached the decision that she was running off to join the circus and added it to the betting pool. Oh, I forgot to mention this become a bet. Free drinks for a month to the winners. This sort of thing seemed to happen every time a group summoning occurred, and the reality was that it was usually something inconsequential, like a new pet or just wanting to get everyone together; however, you can't blame us for being creative.
"It just doesn't make sense. Why would she be an acrobat when she could swallow fire?" Natsu exclaimed. He was trying to convince us that Mira's circus talent would have a definite pyro edge. For some reason, we all took this very seriously.
"No, Mira's classier than that." I explained. "She'd totally be like one of those tightrope walkers or something."
"Fire swallowers can be classy."
"A girl swallowing anything for a living isn't classy." Levy countered, and it took me a few moments to compose myself. Natsu seemed to be at a loss for words.
"I agree." Erza added, "Mira is much more akin to aerobatics."
"Like Cirque Du Soleil!" I said enthusiastically.
"Oh, I love that!" Levy said.
"Me too-"
"More like Cirque Du So Lame." Natsu mumbled.
"It's so not lame, Natsu!" I said irritably, "Just 'cause there aren't any swallowers that you seem to like so much- See, that's why you're my heterosexual and/ or homosexual BFF."
"Don't call me that! And I just want to swallow fire. Whats wrong with that?!"
"Sounds pretty heterosexual and/ or homosexual to me."
"Stop it, Lucy! Should I remind you that you've swallowed some pretty questionable things yourself—Ow!" He yelped as I kicked him under the table.
"You're sworn to secrecy!"
"What'd you swallow, Lucy?" Levy laughed, and our attention finally shifted to the other occupants of the table who seemed completely unfazed by our bickering. To be honest, it was pretty commonplace.
"Oh, man. You wouldn't believe it. I had to drive her to the hospital-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by me wrestling him into a headlock.
"It was an accident!"
"You accidentally swallowed a—Ahhh!" He exclaimed as I tightened the headlock. At the same time, he grabbed my forearm and tilted his body to the side, so that I was now hovering above my seat.
"Woah, am I interrupting something?" A familiar voice asked.
"No, nothing." I answered, releasing my hold on Natsu's head once I was sure he wouldn't talk. I fell back into my seat with a soft 'plop.'
"Don't mind them, Gray." Erza said, "Have a seat."
"Sounds good." The raven haired boy answered, leaving momentarily to grab a chair. Erza and Levy, meanwhile, shot me curious glances, as if hoping I would just blurt out the secret. Ignoring them, I reached for my beer only to find the glass empty.
"When did that happen?"
"Somewhere between Mira running a triathlon and Mira running for President. We got on a running tangent there." Natsu grinned. He pushed his half empty mug towards me. Before I could take a drink, however, Gray rejoined us, and he proceeded to snatch the mug from my hand.
"Looks like the gangs all here." He observed, as he took a sip from it.
"That's Natsu's beer." I informed him, stifling a laugh and the effect of these words were instantaneous. Gray spit the beer in his mouth back into the mug and made a strange choking sound.
"Gross. Take it back." He scowled, placing it in front of Natsu. The two had a very strange friendship. They were very close, no doubt, yet at the same time they seemed to enjoy being at odds with one another. They were fiercely competitive and seemingly annoyed with each other's presence; although, I knew that the latter was a bit of an act. Why else would they hang out so much?
"No way. You already got your cooties in it."
"Cooties? We're not in second grade."
"You're the one who spit it out after finding out it was mine-"
"I'll just drink it." I sighed.
"Lucy, you don't have to drink his spit." Natsu said.
Erza nodded in agreement, "That's how sexually transmitted diseases happen."
"Well, I don't have any STDs." Gray said, eyeing Natsu.
"If I had an STD, Lucy would have gotten it by now." Natsu said nonchalantly, apparently unaware of the confused glances the other table members gave us.
"We share drinks a lot… and food." I clarified.
"And toothbrushes." Levy added.
"That was one time." I said, now kicking Levy under the table. Gray and Erza looked completely disgusted.
"I don't see what the big deal is." Natsu commented.
"Of course you don't, flame brain." Gray scoffed.
"Are you calling me stupid, ice princess?"
"Well, if it quacks like a duck."
"We're not talking about ducks here, and I don't quack!"
"You really are stupid."
"You wanna go, stripper?"
"Let's do it-"
"Settle down, boys." Erza commanded, and it was a comment to her authoritativeness that they listened. By that time, they were mere inches from each other with Gray lying across my body to get a hold on the front of Natsu's shirt. As it so happened, he had lost his own shirt at some point; it was one of his most charming habits, the constant stripping. I had to admit, it would be much less charming if he didn't have such a great body, and it was this great body that was currently positioned right in front of me.
"Wow." I said without thinking, and the shocked faces of Erza and Levy made me instantly regret this. I knew they would ask me about this later. Geez, I just like to appreciate nice things.
"Thanks? You're pretty wow yourself." Gray laughed, returning to his seat.
"Thank you, Gray. I really appreciate that. Natsu here won't even admit I'm adorable."
"Well, I think you're very adorable, Lucy." He replied. I gave him a huge grin then turned to stick my tongue out at Natsu.
"See, it's not that hard to admit." I told him. He responded with a simple eye roll.
"Well, Gray, I think it's about time you put your shirt back on." Erza suggested; although, it sounded rather forceful.
"Yeah, this isn't a whore house." Natsu laughed, seemingly content that Erza was scolding Gray.
"Whatever." Gray smirked, pulling the shirt over his head. Natsu took this moment to make a series of rude faces in his direction, all of which I found hilarious.
"What's wrong with your face, Salamander?" Gajeel interrupted, looking as menacing as ever. Whether this was caused by his extreme height, multiple piercings, or just the ever-present scowl—you know, it was probably all three that make him scary. Not that it looks bad or anything; in fact, the look kind of suits him.
"Nothing, but I can make something wrong with yours-"
"Do not start a fight." Erza chided. "We are here for a friend, so I expect you to stop acting like a child."
"Who wants cake?" Mira suddenly announced to the bar. It appeared that for some reason Elfman had brought her one, because I could make out the words 'For Sis' on written it. Without a second glance, Erza rose from her seat and made a beeline to the cake, incapacitating anyone who got in her way.
"And she calls me a child." Natsu scoffed.
"Oooh, I'm gonna tell Erza." I threatened.
"Yeah, you better watch out for bunny girl." Gajeel grinned. He was, no doubt, referring to the time I was invited to a costume party only to discover that the costume part was a joke. Everyone was dressed normally, in early spring attire, while I was dressed immodestly as a bunny. Needless to say, my friends never let me live this down.
"Oh my god, could we drop that already?"
"It was a costume party in March." Natsu laughed, "Who has a costume party in March?"
"I thought that look suited you."
"Gee, thanks, Levy."
"I still have the pictures on my phone!" Gray said enthusiastically, and he was already scrolling through them with the other table members. The next few minutes were filled with their laughter at the photos coupled with my silent indignation.
"Well, I'd love to keep making fun of bunny girl, but I need the pipsqueak here for some business." Gajeel laughed, gesturing to Levy.
"For what?" She asked, exasperated.
"Like I said, business."
"No way-"
"C'mon shrimp. You owe me." He stated, throwing her petite body over his shoulder, and carrying her away as if she weighed nothing. Levy, to her credit, fought back for a few moments, ignoring Natsu and Gray's teasing, but it soon became evident that this wasn't getting her anywhere.
"I'll meet up with you later, Lucy." She called out to me.
"Sure." I called back to her, but I seriously doubted it. From the looks of things she was about to get some strong drinks and make some bad decisions. Well, bad is a relative term. She will definitely enjoy whatever time she spends with Gajeel tonight, but I fully expected to hear her complaints about it in the morning. I continued to observe their interactions, and I must have looked creepy. Natsu and Gray were both giving me strange looks, and I could already hear the former saying his affectionate nickname for me, 'weirdo.' I threw him a glare before he dared verbalize this.
"Whatcha lookin' like a stalker for?" Natsu asked instead, and this honestly wasn't much better.
"I do not look like a stalker- I was just admiring the ambiance."
"Then why'd you have that creepy grin on your face?" He continued. Boy, he was charming as ever.
"I was thinking about food." I said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. Fortunately, both boys seemed to immediately understand this.
"Been there." Gray stated.
"Yeah, we should order some nachos." Natsu grinned.
"More like double order."
"You're speaking my language, Gray."
"Yeah, I'll-" Gray stopped abruptly mid-sentence, and his whole body seemed to tense. It wasn't until I looked up that I noticed a blue haired girl wrapping her arms around him from behind.
"Hi Juvia!" I greeted cheerfully, ignoring Gray's pleas for help. It's not like she would suddenly stop on my behalf; in fact, she would probably try to physically harm me or humiliate me or something if I interfered. You see, she was slightly fixated on Gray—well, that's probably not the right way to say it, more like totally obsessed. When they met freshman year, it was love at first sight for Juvia but not so much for Gray- Well, he's never outright said he doesn't have feelings for her; he just generally ignores any affection she shows him. I guess I could see how that would make her hopeful.
"Hello, Lucy!" She responded, giving me her most winning smile, and it was a mark of our friendship that she did this. In the past, she would have accused me of trying to 'steal away her Gray' for simply sitting in close proximity to him. I know, she sounds crazy, and she kind of is. But she's also adorable and has a heart of gold and all that good stuff, which takes me to my theory that someone is only a creepy stalker if they're unattractive. If they're cute like Juvia, then they're just a mild nuisance.
"Hi Natsu." He said to himself. He was well aware that with Gray around, Juvia had a sort of tunnel vision; that is, no other boys really existed.
"Oh, hi Natsu. Juvia did not see you there." She explained.
"I know. Don't worry about it." He laughed.
"Guys—Help-" Gray begged, gasping for breath. I pretended not to see anything; it's a skill necessary for any member of Fairy Tail.
"Juvia, maybe you should let go of Gray," Natsu suggested. I snapped my head in his direction at this surprising turn of events; people generally left Gray to his own devices in these situations, and understandably so, as Juvia shot Natsu a look of death. "Because he's been talking about how he wants to go dancing with you all night."
Juvia's glare quickly turned into a smile, "Yes, Juvia thinks that is a good idea."
"Wha—No-" Gray spluttered as he was literally dragged out to the dance floor. I laughed at the sight of it. Like I said, mild nuisance.
"Whoa, since when can you handle Juvia?" I asked.
"I do hang out with Gray a lot, which means I hang out with Juvia a lot."
"Oh, he invites her along? This is news."
"He doesn't." Natsu stated, "Actually, sometimes we'll be hanging out for a while before we even notice that she's there. Like, this one time she appeared out of a pile of laundry."
"Oh, r-really?" I replied, attempting to keep a straight face, but within a few seconds we both burst out laughing.
"It was pretty awkward," He said between laughs, "And a little scary."
"She's lucky she's cute."
"Yeah, she's pretty hot, but that's how she lowers your defenses."
"When you say that, I kind of feel like you should be wearing an explorer outfit."
"This is the Juvia in her natural habitat." He said in a British accent, "The Juvia stalks the wild Gray, careful before she makes her move. When the time is right, she pounces, going for the kill."
"Yes! That's perfect!"
"The Lucy, on the other hand, will drink vigorously before selecting a mate."
"Well, that's a little too true, but I'll allow it." I laughed.
We continued this way for a while, switching from person to person within the bar, making random observations of their behavior. I was attempting to think of a way to plot out wild Laxus mating patterns. Obviously, they only mate during thunderstorms-
"Hey everyone!" Mira called, and despite her soft voice, she quickly drew the attention of the entire bar the way some people could. "I have an announcement to make." At this, the bar turned into a commotion, as patrons attempted to remember what they betted on. Elfman, banged his fist on a table, in what I assume was an attempt to regain order; however, it caused a deep crack to appear on the table.
"Tell 'em sis." He grinned. She paused; however, whether this was out of concern for the table or simply a method to collect her thoughts was unclear. She stood this way for a few minutes, but it might as well have been a few days. Surprisingly, Freed, another regular at Fairy Tail, walked out from the crowd and next to the silver haired beauty. He grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring grin- but this didn't make any sense. I mean, they weren't particularly close, not that I knew of at least. Yet, they looked so natural up there together as if they were in on something. I racked my brain for everything I knew about either of them. The only thing that came to mind was the date I set them up on last year, but that didn't work out-
"So, we're together!" Freed smiled, and I took a swig of the beer in front of specifically so I could spit it out. Everyone else appeared to have similar reactions.
"And we're getting married." Mira squealed, lifting her hand to show off the ring, a gorgeous sapphire stone. I reached for the beer mug again; only to see that Natsu had beat me to it. At least one of us was on top of it. The bar quickly exploded in cheers and congratulations, swarming around the couple to get all the details of their relationship. The two handled it in a stride, and as groups kept calling them over, they ended up circling the bar to answer everyone's questions.
"So, you guys are together because of me, right?" I asked when they reached our table. Natsu gave me an incredulous look.
"Pretty much." Mira said sweetly, wiping that smug grin off Natsu's face. "Sorry we lied to you about the date going badly, but we didn't want too much attention while we're still figuring things out."
"No, I completely understand." I reassured her. "I'm just so happy for you guys!"
"Thank you, Lucy." Freed smiled.
"I was actually wondering if you'd like to be a bridesmaid-"
"Yes! More than anything! More than actually getting married myself!"
"O-okay." Mira smiled. I was probably too enthusiastic; it must be some sort of condition. "I'll let you know all the details."
"Sounds great!"
"Congrats again." Natsu nodded.
"Thanks!" Mira and Freed grinned, walking away hand in hand. They appeared so natural together. How did I not notice this before? I watched them as they talked to Cana who insisted on a very lengthy and rather touchy group hug, yet even this didn't seem to bother the couple. Laughing, they exchanged a look that made even my heart race. They were unquestionably perfect together.
"You have that creepy smile again. Are you enjoying the ambiance?" Natsu asked mockingly.
"No," I said, for the first time this night, swelling with pride, "I'm going to be a matchmaker!"
Maybe Tuesdays weren't so bad.
Hope you enjoyed it so far:)